Dope Daiquiris

Brian Dobbins launched Dope Daiquiris in 2024, headquartered in Houston, Texas. Dope Daiquiris quickly grew to be the most accessible cannabis-infused frozen dispensed beverage in the country. Dobbins’ background includes executive and C-suite level positions spanning nearly 20 years with one of the nation’s largest frozen daiquiris to-go chains. He spent much of his tenure focused on business and product development, including frozen beverage flavor and texture profiles, packaging, distribution and retail management and franchising.

The Creative Vision Behind Non-Alcoholic Cannabis-Infused Frozen Beverage Solutions

For nearly 20 years, I helped build one of the nation’s largest alcoholic frozen daiquiris to-go chains.

After 2021, I quickly witnessed first-hand the steady decline of alcohol sales and the emergence of hemp beverages. While alcohol was declining, the entire category of frozen dispensed beverages was increasing nationwide. So with my background in frozen beverages, it just seemed like a natural fit to introduce a cannabis-infused frozen beverage while following the strictest alcohol regulations across the country.

Shifting Consumer Preferences Toward Alternative Social Beverages

Consumers will always want something that tastes great and is effective for the experience they’re seeking. Many of the infused seltzer products on the market are very similar. But getting into a dispensed frozen category, you really get to play to the explosive tastes you only get with sweetened products.

Because of the food chemistry of keeping a beverage in slush form, i.e., the sugar, frozen dispensed products are treats and not meant to be consumed multiple servings at once, so finding the right potency is just as important as finding your favorite flavor.

Trust and Awareness Building within an Emerging Category

Building trust with a customer to try different flavors and potencies to find what works best for them is a unique hurdle with a frozen beverage program. We rely nearly entirely on our relationships with retailers, implementing the same customer experience across the country. This is because retailers have their choice of potencies and flavors, but are limited to the quantity of barrels per frozen machine. It’s much different than offering 6 or 10 canned beverage options.

It’s also important to note that not all water-soluble HD9 nano is created equally. If a customer has an unpleasant experience with one brand, we have to work harder to build their trust to try ours.

Ensuring Innovation, Taste, Compliance and Responsible Consumption

I’m proud to say that before any product hits the market, my team and I taste and test for efficacy. It’s a daunting task at times, but we would never put a product out to market that we don’t all agree tastes great, or that doesn’t work.

As a CEO of a cannabis-infused beverage brand, I empower my team to lead in their respective roles, while overseeing compliance and the responsible customer experience first and foremost. Innovation is sparked throughout the year. It’s when that idea never goes away that we begin to focus on and build around it.

Designing Curated Alternative Beverage Experiences

Visit liquor stores, convenience stores, smoke shops and alternative products shops. Try to find what price-point or product may be missing, or a brand that does something good, not great, and focus on that. There are holes in the market that have a huge opportunity, so find those holes and work towards building a high-quality product that stands out through price or packaging.